Professor Leila N. Sadat, a renowned expert on international criminal law and a leading authority of crimes against humanity, delivered the fourth Nuremberg Academy Lecture on 1 April 2025. The lecture titled “The Long Arc of Justice: Forging a Convention for Crimes Against Humanity” was held at the historic Courtroom 600 of the Nuremberg Palace of Justice. Katja Keul, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office was in attendance and delivered welcoming remarks.
Professor Sadat has been instrumental in leading the movement for the creation of a convention on crimes against humanity. The lecture traced the history of the crimes in international law and elaborated on the development and contours of the negotiations to codify the crime in a new global treaty. This topic has gained particular relevance after the recent decision by the United Nations General Assembly to convene United Nations Conferences of Plenipotentiaries on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Humanity in 2028 and 2029.
Professor Sadat emphasised that the potential creation of a “treaty and the hope it represents is not just a piece of paper: It is a promise to survivors.” She also noted that while adopting such a treaty would be a major accomplishment, it would only constitute “a necessary, but not a sufficient, first step” to prevent and punish the commission of crimes against humanity. The lecture was followed by an engaging discussion moderated by Professor Dr Christoph Safferling, the Director of the Nuremberg Academy.
Professor Leila N. Sadat is the Head of the Crimes Against Humanity Initiative, a project responsible for drafting the world’s first treaty on crimes against humanity. From 2012 to 2023, she served as Special Adviser on Crimes Against Humanity to the International Criminal Court Prosecutor. Professor Sadat is also the James Carr Professor of International Criminal Law of the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute at Washington University Law School and a Fellow at the Schell Center for Human Rights at Yale Law School.
The lecture was video recorded and will be available on the Academy’s YouTube channel. For more information on the Nuremberg Academy Lectures, please click here. (km)
